The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1887-11-12
50UTaERN AGRICULTURAL.
Some Vegetable experience.

Some Vegetable Experience.
There has been little of novelty In
the way of garden vegetables this sea-
son. Among those which we tried for
the first time, the dwarf Flagcolet bean
is worth mentioning. 1t is a wax bean
of unusual length Of pod. The plants
are vigorous and productive, and alto
gether we consider It the best wax bean
we have tried.
The Italian onions IRE not new, but
few in the South are aware how easy
it is to get good supply Of onions
from seed the first season by using
these Italian sorts By the time our
onions. which we're grown from sets.
had all been used. the Queen onions
were large enough for the table. and
have been in use since the last week in
June.
The new Eclipse beet we do not like
as well for an early sort as the
Egyptian. 1t does not however, get SO
poor in quality as theseason advances.
This variety was putupon the market
too soon- 1t hicks fixity of type. At
least those which we have sown do.
for we find beets Of all shapes and
colors mixed with those of the shape
claimed for this sort. These odd
shaped ones evidently are not mix
lures but variations, and some time
and patience are needed to get the
Eclipse into the uniform habits as the
Egyptian shows.
1t is great pity we can not get an
early variety of sugar corn that will
succeed south OF Mason and Dixon's
line. For many years tried every
new sort offered. but with uniform
failure. Tho only exception was a
moderate success one season with the
Black Mexican. which. by the bye, is as
good corn as was ever eaten. We
have settled down to the conclusion
that we can not have early sweet corn
in this latitude, and so we have to
make ourselves content with the little
Adams Early. the s.Neck corn" of the
Baltimore market growers. This is
dwarf-growing early dent and makes
poor roasting ears" in comparison
with sweet corn. But to those who
can wait in patience we can offer the
best of all corn-the Stowells Ever
green followed by the still later but
unsurpassed Hydss Egyptian. If we
could only find an early variety of
sweet corn which would succeed in
this climate our happiness in this re-
spect would be complete. But then
there are SO many things we can grow
better here than our Northern friends.
suppose we shall have to be content
to leave Thorn In the enjoyment of the
early sweet corn. while we enjoy our
tomotoes, egg plants and sweet pota-
toes weeks ahead of them.
Speaking of sweet potatoes, we have
no doubt they can be grown in many
localities North. bat those who know
only the Northern-grown article have
but faint idea of what q sweet pota-
to is when matured in the warm eli
mate. Even thus far south there is a
great difference in the tubers pro-
duced in different localities. Here in
the foothills Of the Blue Ridge we grow
good crops in sandy places on our
bottom lands, but our mountain-grown
potatoes bear no comparison in quail
ty to those raised in the sandy. piney-
woods country bordering ON the tide
water rivers and bay. Jerseymen
think they grow sweet potatoes on
their sandy soils, and 90 they do so
far as quantity and appearance go,
but natives of the Eastern shore would
throw aside Jersey potato as not
worth eating. The Jerseyman ma
nures his sweet potatoes with animal
manure The Eastern shore man
knows that nothing so surely destroys
their quality. All he wants for the
production of large and lus-
cious crops is to have the run Of
a piece of pine forest A
heavy coat of the half-decayed pine
..shatters' or stays" on o piece of
mellow upland gives him better
product that can be had from city
manure The vines will not SO rank ly
cover the ground, but the tubers will
be then Of unsurpassed quality. OF
varieties the one known here rs Red
Nose. from the reddish-brown freckles
on the top end of the tuber. is the best
of the yellow sorts, but it requires a
longer season than the Nausemond that
The Jersey growers use. For Northern
localities Lam of the opinion that the
yam known as Southern Queen. or
among the Norfolk truckers as Hay
man. is the best. 1t is early and pro-
ductive and is the best Keeper Of all